


Poursuite Du Bonheur

by SunburntCoffee



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gen, Love, Original work - Freeform, Sentimental, original - Freeform, the desire for happiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-06 19:48:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14654922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunburntCoffee/pseuds/SunburntCoffee
Summary: Alex Walker’s life wasn’t exactly what one would desire. He had 2 siblings, one was 6 years old and the other was 11. His mom was an alcoholic single mom, which meant that she had no job whatsoever to keep the whole family alive. So, being the eldest child, he took it upon himself to get a job at the small nearby bakery just across their street while he studied just so his family could keep a roof above their heads. And because of all that, at this point, he just feels like living is a requirement. He is alive because he needs to be. He feels nothing but loneliness and emptiness; feeling drained every single day. He didn’t have many friends at school- maybe one or two, but that was about it. For most of his life, he wanted nothing for himself. He never asked for anything. But he longed for one thing that he thought he deserved well enough to feel as he went on with his life. Happiness. How he longed for happiness all his life. He sought for it in everything and everyone he encountered- but to no avail.That is until he falls asleep one night after a long day at school and an argument with his mom. He wakes up and sees a girl his age lying on the couch in his room, claiming to be his best friend of many years.





	1. THE WALKERS

 

 ** _B_** _eep. Beep. Beeeep._ The sound of the god-awful alarm clock of Alex Walker bounced off his bedroom walls and in and out of his poor ears, instantly getting the boy up and ready for whatever the universe had in store for him. “Oh my god,” he sighed, running a hand across his face in an attempt to fully wake up. “Good morning, world. Throw it at me.” He looked up at the ceiling, mentally and physically preparing himself for the day. Standing up to stretch, he heard rapid footsteps tattering across the hall, followed by screaming that was definitely way too early for the morning. 

  
“These kids. I swear to God.” Alex groaned, opening his door to find his younger siblings Andy and Toni running all over the place, Andy being the chaser and Toni being the chase. “TONI! I TOLD YOU NOT TO GO IN MY ROOM—“Andy started to yell, only to be cut off by a louder one coming from the kitchen. “YOU BRATS, STOP SCREAMING!” And just like that, Andy and Toni halted their feet and quietly walked back to wherever they were suited in before—not caring where actually, just making sure they were pretty far away from their alcoholic of a mother.  
  
Alex, taking one for the team as usual considering he is the eldest among the three of them and practically the only person raising the whole family, walked downstairs as his mother, Mrs. Walker continued to take a swig from her beer bottle and muttering unflattering things about her children, “rotten kids. Why did I even give birth to all of you?” and with that, she made her way to the couch to sit in front of the TV—the only thing she seemed to master doing after their father left them to rot.  
  
Rolling his eyes, he decided to still greet his mother even in a condition like this. “Good morning, mom. Have you had breakfast yet?” he asked, opening the small refrigerator in their kitchen. And as expected, he got a sarcastic answer in return. “You make the breakfast in this godforsaken house, and you JUST woke up. Does it look like I’ve eaten breakfast yet?” Mrs. Walker exclaimed, clearly drowsy with alcohol as she rolled her eyes and struggled with holding the beer bottle in her hand. Though used to that kind of tone coming from his mother, his eyes widened as he realized that the kids were probably up hours before him and haven’t had their breakfast yet. “So, you didn’t even care to at least make some cereal for the kids?” he asked, hurriedly getting the leftover cereal they had, two bowls, and what was left of their milk.  
  
Mrs. Walker watched him as he frantically moved all over the kitchen, “so, you’re not even going to cook for me?” followed by an unnecessary scoff, “what a son.” To which Alex responded under his breath, “—of a bitch.” Finishing making the cereal, he called out to his siblings as loud as he can knowing they were probably too busy arguing to hear him, “TONI! ANDY! BREAKFAST IS READY!” realizing his job as practically a father AND a mother, he decided to cook for the alcoholic of the house as well. He always did, anyway. No matter how wild and aggressive she gets. “I’ll cook you some eggs. Do we still have some?” “How should I know?” Mrs. Walker huffed, walking to get another beer from the fridge and seeing the stack of eggs they had left. “Oh well! I guess we do! I want ALL of them!” she said, greedily with a smirk etched on her wrinkly face.  
  
Alex responded, sarcasm dripping along his voice like honey, “of course you do.” He let out a smile faker than anything made from China as he got the eggs from the refrigerator and cracking each one in a bowl. Toni and Andy run downstairs and immediately sit beside each other on the dinner table, “YAY! Thank you, Alex!” Andy exclaimed, starting to eat his surprisingly not stale cereal. On the other hand, Toni raised an eyebrow while looking down at her own bowl, “again? Don’t we have any other food?”

Alex sighed at the question, “Mom wanted all the eggs. I’ll get my paycheck today, anyway.” He threw them a light smile, “I’ll restock our fridge as much as I can, yeah?” As he finished cooking the eggs and putting them on a plate, a mumble left his mouth as he served it in front of his mother, “bon appetite.”

Mrs. Walker rolled her eyes, clearly not amused by her son in any way as she messily ate her eggs, some not even making its way to her mouth. “Don’t be a smart mouth, Alexander.” Alex shook his head at the use of his full name, “Don’t call me that.”

Mrs. Walker looked at him and pouted mockingly, using a teasing baby voice, “aw, does wittle Alexander not want mommy to call him by the name his dear ol’ daddy named him?” Rolling her eyes, she cackled at her son, “Suck it up, Alex. You’re old enough to get over something as small as me using your full name.”  
  
“and this is why dad left us—left you.” he retorted, looking at his mother with a clenched jaw that he immediately unclenched the moment he realized what he had said. “I-I have to go to school.”

  
Mrs. Walker, clearly hurt by the words that came from her own son, looked down on her food as she told him to go. Alex took that as a signal to rush up the stairs and get ready for the rest of the day, and boy did he hope it wouldn’t get worse.


	2. SCHOOL DREAD

**A** s the bell rang, Alex grasped his backpack knowing just what that sound meant. “Crap. I’m late. I’m late. I’m late.” He mumbled under his breath repeatedly, rushing towards his first class. Skylar, a friend of some sorts, caught up with Alex and started a conversation. “hey, Alex! Don’t we have English Literature together as the first class of the day?” Alex smiled timidly at the ginger beside him as he walked in a fast pace, trying not to catch the second bell, “Oh, um, hey Skylar. I think we do?” he said, unsure of his answer.

  
“Oh, well! Let’s just walk together then!” Skylar replied, walking along the halls with him. “Slow down, though! I might break my legs here trying to catch up to your pace, Flash.” She chuckled softly, fixing her backpack that was slung on her shoulder. “Well, once we arrive there at least a second late, Mrs. Harrington’s going to give us detention.” He looked at Skylar, “and you know it.” he finished with a chuckled, making a turn. “Oh dear, I could already hear her stick hitting the board.”  
  
Skylar laughed, “I’m surprised it hasn’t snapped in half yet. The stick’s as strong as the 60 year old woman herself.” She pointed out, getting nearer to the classroom they’ve been walking to for the past 5-10 minutes. “Are you ready? We’re a second late.” She joked lightly as they stopped in front of the door, nudging Alex’s side as a sign of banter. “I’m just hoping she won’t decide to snap her stick in half by whacking us across the face with it.” he chuckled, turning the knob to open the door.  
  
There stood Mrs. Harrington with her arms crossed and her eyes trained on them, “you’re late. Why is that so, Mr. Walker and Ms. Kelsey? Care to give a valid explanation?” and just when you think Skylar could’ve been a thoughtful and caring friend as she made herself out to be, she thought of a lie that would only really benefit her. “Um… Alex forced me to stay with him a little while off campus so he could finish an assignment. I refused but he insisted. Sorry, Mrs. Harrington.” She looked at Alex as if telling him to go with the flow. Alex, being the sweetheart he is and practically not wanting trouble from anyone, understood that Skylar didn’t want detention and so he nodded along. “She’s right. It’s all on me, Mrs. Harrington. It won’t happen again.” He smiled timidly, walking to his seat.  
  
Mrs. Harrington looked at him in a warning glance, “make sure of that, Mr. Walker. You have detention on Saturday, but only for you.” she then proceeded to teach, showing her lesson plan on the screen projector. “ _If you want to be happy, be._ That is a quote from Leo Tolstoy.” She started, walking around the classroom. “Tell me, what is happiness?” As the question was asked, the classroom was filled with quiet murmurs and an endless exchange of clueless looks. Alex, unintentionally speaking louder than the rest, answered.

 **“A new beginning.”**  
  
The class looked at Alex, surprised that he had an answer to such a complex question. Mrs. Harrington raised an eyebrow, looking at the boy, “yes, Mr. Walker? Would you like to elaborate?” Alex looked around shyly but stood up anyway, “Happiness is a new beginning. Some of us live lives of dull and unwanted days that even the slightest feeling of happiness is like a splash of fresh water on the face. It’s a new beginning—where we start again, but with smiles on our faces and no burden to carry every single day.” The class stayed quiet, taking in the words he just said. Maybe he was right, maybe he wasn’t. A lot of realization was taken in by every single student in that classroom, but not one decided to speak up. For what they had to say was already said and done.

  
Mrs. Harrington nodded along after a few seconds of understanding his answer, “huh.” Uncrossing her arms from her chest, she looked intently at Alex, “and for you, Mr. Walker, what does it take to be happy?” the question made the class turn their heads to Alex again as he swallowed a lump in his throat to answer, “I don’t know. I have yet to find a way to feel it.” Crossing her arms once again, Mrs. Harrington asked yet another question, “Are you not happy, Mr. Walker?” “I try to be.” “But are you?”  
  
Alex looks around, shrugging his shoulders just a little bit, “I-I’m not.” Mrs. Harrington stared down at him with something in her eyes that held hope for the young boy, “A new beginning, Mr. Walker. Hold onto your words and look forward to what you believe in.” Nodding at him, she then proceeded to her next lesson. “Leo Tolstoy. Can anybody tell me who he is?”


	3. A HOUSE BUT NOT A HOME

**“M** a, I’m home!” Alex called out as he walked in their house, closing the door behind him. When his mother didn’t respond, he resorted to calling out his siblings, “Toni? Andy?” and in a blink of an eye, Toni runs down the stairs with tears all over her face. “Mom is hitting Andy!” with that, all signs of alarm in Alex’s nerves drove him to run up the stairs into Andy’s room, “MA! LET GO OF HIM!” Mrs. Walker did not dare look at her eldest son as she raised her hand to hit Andy once again, “HE WAS BEING A BRAT!”

The sight of his own mother ready and willing to hit his little brother was the last straw for Alex. He took a hold of his mother’s arm and pulled Andy away from her as he yelled, “DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH MY BROTHER!”

Toni rushes over to Andy, fixing his clothes and his hair, looking at the bruises and cuts, “It’s… it’s not that many.” Though there was a couple, Toni sighed in relief knowing it won’t be too serious for them to bring Andy to the hospital. As Toni hugged Andy, Mrs. Walker did not back down. Raising her voice in a drunken manner, she laughed loudly. “What a knight in shining armor you are, Alexander!” Alex tried to keep his voice low and his temper on the ground, “go to bed, Ma. What you did crossed the line.”  
  
“What line, huh?” Mrs. Walker loudly asked, attempting to push Alex by the shoulders. “I’m the adult in this house! I make the rules! I birthed the three of you and provided you air to breathe!” and what she said next pushed Alex over the edge, “I AM YOUR MOTHER!” “THEN START ACTING LIKE IT!” Alex screamed, tears welling up his eyes. “A mother doesn’t hit her child. A mother doesn’t get drunk off her ass every single day—from dusk until dawn and a mother doesn’t neglect her children! A mother is not what you are. It’s a title you hold, but you know damn well you don’t deserve it.” with his jaw clenched, he closed the door of Andy’s room to keep Andy and Toni safe and sound from their obvious wreck of a mother. “Don’t come near my siblings like that ever again.” Locking Andy’s door, he didn’t spare one more glance at his mother as he went inside his own room.  
  
As he laid on his bed, trying to catch his breath and calm himself down, he whispered to the nonexistent, “If this is what it take to be happy, then I don’t want it.” and with that, he drifted off to sleep.


	4. SAM

**T** he sun hitting his skin, Alex woke up suddenly when he felt the warmth engulf him. Groaning at the fact that he was awoken from his peaceful slumber, he looked at the alarm clock on his bedside table and wondered why it wasn’t the one who woke him up, “Huh. Who turned you off?” he mumbled sleepily, confused as to why it didn’t blare loudly like it always did.  
  
“ _I did! It was so loud, and I got annoyed.”  
  
_ Alex heard a female voice say as he saw a girl his age laying on his couch with her feet propped up on the arm. Eyes widening in shock and alertness, he sat up quickly and wrapped the blanket around his naked torso out of instinct, “WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?” The mystery girl laughed, “OKAY CALM DOWN! I’m not a robber or anything,” _well, at least she cleared THAT up._ ” I may have a lot of explaining to do. But to summarize, just think of me as… your best friend that you haven’t seen in years.” She ended with a smirk on her face.  
  
Alex, not being calmed down by the explanation she gave, panicked as his voice got louder, “HOW CAN I TREAT YOU LIKE THAT IF I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO YOU ARE? WHO EVEN LET YOU IN HERE?” Mystery Girl, as Alex calls her now in his mind in the midst of all the panic, threw a pillow at him, “Can you please lower your voice? Your neighbors are going to file a noise complaint and that’s going to be a pain in the ass!”  
  
See, none of this is making any sense at all to Alex or to anyone else living in the world. Looking at her as if she’s out of her mind, Alex exclaimed with no intention of lowering his voice down, “you are LITERALLY a STRANGER laying on MY COUCH at—“he then paused to look back at his alarm clock, “7 in the morning!” and with that, Mystery Girl finally revealed who she was, like she should have from the start anyway.

“I’m Sam. Short for Samantha—not short for anything unique, really.” Mystery Girl aka Sam smiled, “Now, you know me!” Alex ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated with everything that is happening at the moment, “What the hell is happening right now?” he mumbled, looking at Sam. “How do you know me?” “I just do!” she rolled her eyes, “I know you like the back of your hand! And you know me too. You’re just not aware of it yet.”  
  
And like his least favorite teacher in Physics would do, he began a pop quiz. Squinting his eyes skeptically at Sam, Alex asked the first question like rapid fire, which caused him to ask more questions one after the other.  
  
“What’s my middle name?”  
“Stevie.” Sam replied with a smirk.  
“What’s my favorite color?”  
“Royal blue.”  
“What’s my favorite movie?”  
“Serendipity.”  
“What’s my favorite song?”  
“Fast Car by Tracy Chapman.” Sam yawned, clearly finding the questions too easy for her liking.  
“Where’s my birthmark?”  
“On your left ankle, right above the bone.”  
“What’s my mom’s name?”  
“Alcoholic.” Clearly pleased with her wit, Sam snickered as she gave her answer. But Alex took this quiz seriously, considering Sam is FAR from being someone he could be acquainted with, let alone his best friend. He looked at her warningly, as if to tell her to just answer the damn question.  
  
“Sorry,” Sam snickered once again, “her name’s Yvonne.” She says in a mocking posh accent. Alex looked at her in disbelief, “Dang it. You’re a stalker, aren’t you?” “I think “best friend” is the right term, thank you very much.” She cheekily smiled back at him, crossing her arms.

 “Got any more questions?” Alex, not giving up without a fight, started thinking of a difficult question that he’s sure Sam wouldn’t know, “alright then, “best friend”.” he started, putting up quotation marks with his fingers, “when I was 8 years old, where did my dad take us for a camping trip? And what happened there that made me not want to go camping anymore?” he smirked, clearly proud of himself while putting up the quotation marks once again. “Try to answer that, “best friend”.”  
  
Sam sighed like it was no big deal, picking at her fingernails as she answered, “You guys went to this awful-smelling part of a forest in Kansas, and y’all thought it was skunk pee but really, it was just your dad’s farts,” she paused to laugh before she could answer the second question, “and as for what happened,” and there comes the smirk, “you got bitten by a big ant on your—“ALRIGHT! OKAY! I GET IT!” Alex cut her off before she could go to any more explicit details by throwing a pillow at her, “so… you’re really… you know me?” he was starting to just believe it, his eyes brows still furrowing in confusion. “Like the back of your hand.” Sam repeated, winking by the end.  
  
“It’s funny because… the only thing I know about you is that you’re a girl and your name is Sam. That’s quite unfair, don’t you think?” Alex chuckled, looking up at the girl who was still mysterious to him. “Then… let’s have you know me.” Smirking, she stood up as she fixed her jeans, “get dressed, man. We’re going on a trip.” “On a school day?” Alex bit his lip, obviously scared of missing classes.

“It’s a Saturday, Alex. Nobody attends Saturday classes,” Sam laughed, “now come on!” she clapped her hands as she pushed him towards the bathroom, “FLUSH THE TOILET!” Closing the door, she smirked and dusted off her hands. “This is going to be a long ride, Walker.”

 


	5. THE BOWLING ALLEY

**“T** he bowling alley? This is where you want to take me to for an adventure?” Alex asked, his eyes looking up at the sign that was barely running on any electricity for it to continue glowing. “Mhm, and it’ll be one of the best fucking days of your life!” Sam smirked, walking inside and being greeted by the raunchy smell of nacho cheese and overcooked hotdogs. “This, my friend, is the heaven upon heavens!”  
  
Alex looked around, scrunching his nose at the newfound smell, “I find that hard to believe.” “Oh, the food smells really bad but when you taste it, it’s like eating a rotisserie chicken from a 5 star restaurant.” Sam reassured with a wink as she picked a column for them to start playing in. “Don’t worry, they know me. I spend a lot of time here.” She continued to explain as she set up the manual slot for the bowling balls to roll in. “don’t they have modern technology for that?” Alex asked out of curiosity, being it the first time seeing a manual bowling ball slot in the 21st century.  
  
“Yeah, but the owner likes to keep it a bit old school. Saying the bowling alley from years ago was more fun to play in. I, as a millennial, was personally offended.” Sam joked, getting a 1.5 pound pink marble bowling ball from the slot. “Watch and learn, Walker. Watch and—OKAY THAT WAS A TRIAL RUN!” Assuming her goal was NOT to have the ball roll over to the very side of the column, Alex let out an amused laugh as Sam went from cocky confident to losing her pride any minute. “A trial run, eh? I bet I can do better on the first try.” He smirked, now being the one who was cocky confident. “Oh, is that so? Alright, Walker, give it your best shot.” Sam shrugged and gave him another 1.5 marble ball that was streaked with white and gray paint.  
  
Holding the ball in the right position, Alex focused on the middle of the bowling pins in hopes of getting a strike so he doesn’t look like a big ass fool in front of a really pretty girl. “One… two… three…” and as he let the ball roll, he repeatedly chanted to whatever existing god there was in the sky to make it miraculously hit a strike. “BOO TO THE YEAAAH!” Alex cheered as the machine kept saying the word STRIKE over and over again. “ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, MR. BIG SHOT!” Sam jokingly sneered, squinting her eyes at the boy in front of her. “You just got really lucky.”  
  
“Oh, did I? Or is it just you not accepting that you’re a total loser with no bowling skills like me?” Alex teased, doing an awkward victory dance in an attempt to shame Sam in front of the whole bowling alley which was mostly empty and dull, only having 2-3 people in there with them. “Oh god, stop dancing. You look like a chicken that just fell off a building!” “Now, why would a chicken fall off a building, Samantha?” “I don’t know, why _don’t_ chickens fall off a building in the first place?” confused by the question, Alex made a face at her not wanting to admit that he has nothing to retort to her irrelevant question.  
  
“Cat got your tongue?” “More like a dog… because like… cats are so… overrated… pfft.” Silence fills the space in between them. “You are so weird, Walker.” Sam says, a grin creeping up her mouth, “but I like that.” Winking, she got another ball to roll. “I’m winning by the end of the day.” “Not if I win first!” “Oh, you wish!”


	6. THE CARNIVAL

**“U** p and at ‘em, big boy! We got a fun day ahead of us and I am not letting you stay in bed for five more minutes!” Sam clapped her hands dangerously close to Alex’s swollen-from-sleep face at 7 in the morning. In the past weeks she’s been getting him up early in the morning to start a new adventure, she has learned that Alex likes to take five more minutes in bed—which she also learned that in boy terms means another hour and a half.  
  
“Sam,” Alex groaned sleepily, putting his pillow over his face in an attempt to blind himself from the sun that was currently beaming through his window. “You are the most annoying person in the morning—you even opened my windows! Nobody in this house does that!” Sam rolled her eyes at his dramatic state, “What are you? A vampire? GET UP! Andy and Toni have had their breakfast and Alcoholic—“ before she could continue, Alex moves the pillow away from his face to make a face at Sam, “I’m sorry. I mean YVONNE is passed out with a shot glass in her hand on the couch. A pretty normal morning, if you ask me.” She shrugged, lightly joking to somehow awoken the sleepy and lazy lump that is Alex Walker.  
  
“Well, thank you for the news report, Chamberlain.” Yawning really loudly, he sat up and stretched his arms out, intentionally poking Sam in the forehead with his pointer finger. “Poke my forehead again, and I swear yours will be deformed in no time.” “Geez, Sam, it seems like you’re the one who woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” “And you’ll wake up on the wrong side of your coffin if you don’t shower and get dressed in 20 minutes.”  
  
Alex stared at her, fixing his glasses to clear his vision.  
 “You scare me.” “Good.”

 

After about 25 minutes, Alex finally puts on his “adventure jacket” as he liked to call it. Sam, being the impatient red-head she is, clapped her hands dramatically, “Oh, finally! The king decided to finish getting ready after a million years!” Alex rolled his eyes in a playful manner as he snatches Sam’s car keys from her back pocket, “You exaggerate a lot. And because of that, I’m driving.”  
  
“You don’t drive safe!”  
“Well, at least we’ll die on a way to an adventure.”  
  
\--  
  
“Oh, wow.” Alex looked around, being fascinated by the lights, the sounds, and the rides that made up this whole place. “Are you excited? I know you haven’t been one in years so I thought I’d take you.” Sam said, her smile glowing on her face as if it was newly repaired by god himself. “Sometimes, I still wonder how you know all these things.” Alex chuckled, shaking his head still in disbelief. “I told you. I’m your best friend. I thought we went over this?” Sam teasingly said, a glint in her eye twinkling with amusement for the boy standing in front of her.  
  
“Now, come on! Which ride you want to go on first?” Alex registered the question in his head. Most of these rides involved heights and let’s just say he has a wee bit of fear when it comes to that. “How about… THE BIG FERRIS WHEEL?” Sam gasped excitedly, looking up at the silver-glow of the big white ferris wheel that stood not too far from them. Looking at how Sam lit up with joy when she mentioned it, he couldn’t take it upon himself to decline. “Sure, why not?” He smiled, showing that he was more than okay with her suggestion but he was absolutely vomiting in fear on the inside.  
  
“I know you’re afraid of heights, Alex.” Sam nudged his arm, smiling reassuringly at him. “But life’s going to go on for a while. If you’re not too scared, do you want to conquer your fear?” Alex’s head turned to her, his bottom lip between his teeth. “I… I’m alright with whatever you want.” “Don’t think about me. Stop thinking about what everyone else wants. What do YOU want to do?” Sam took a hold of his arm, looking in his eyes. “Learn to decide for yourself, man. You can’t let anyone else’s decisions affect yours, just so you can please them.”  
  
Alex looked into her eyes, seeing himself in them. But he sees a confident Alex, not his usual cowardly self. “I do. I want to go on the ferris wheel. I want to conquer my fear.” He said after taking a short breath of self-reassurance. Sam couldn’t keep off the smile that was threatening to spread across her face as she held his hand, “Don’t worry. You can squeeze my hand as tight as you want.” Looking down at their hands, there was no cliché electricity that sparked in between them, but there was the feeling of security. And it was a feeling Alex hasn’t felt for a long time.

\--  
  
“You know, when I say I want to puke, there’s a slight possibility that it will literally happen.” Alex stuttered out, his eyes refusing to look down and see the people roaming around as ants. “Don’t worry. I came prepared.” Sam laughed, putting her hands out in a cup form in front of his mouth. “You’re laughing now, but when I actually puke my intestines out in your hands, it’s all on you.” Alex stuck his tongue out at her, gripping on her hand again as another rush of adrenaline mixed with fear flowed through him. “Aside from fear, what do you feel right now?” Sam asked, turning her voice up a little in case he couldn’t hear her completely because of the air and the loud carnival sounds.  
  
“I feel like… I’m halfway accomplished.” Alex responded honestly, because never in his life did he think he’d have the guts to conquer heights. They gave him nightmares for days when he was a kid. “I feel free.” He went silent after he continued. Sam squeezed his hand lightly, flashing him a kind smile. “And you should be able to feel that way even outside of this ferris wheel.” “If only it were that easy.” She looks at him and opens his palm, pointing her finger at the middle. “Freedom can be felt in many things. It’s a flexible little thing, you see.” She drags her finger up north on his palm and pointed again, “treat this as the sky. Heights. This ferris wheel. You feel freedom right here and so far it’s been easy.” She then dragged her finger to point at each of his fingers, “These are the things you want to do, but you feel like you can’t.”

She lightly takes hold of his thumb, “painting.” His index finger, “singing.” His middle finger, “photography.” His ring finger, “falling in love.” Then lastly, his pinky, “and being happy.”  
  
Alex, being mesmerized by her voice and her the light touch of her fingertips, looked at her and blinked softly, “I…I don’t understand.” She winked and let go of his hand gently, balling it into a fist. “In all of those things, you will feel free. You just have to find a way to start doing them—to start believing you can do them.” before Alex could answer, the ferris wheel stopped, signaling the end of the ride. Sam hopped out before him and helped him out, “How about those heights, huh?” She smirked, crossing her arms.  
  
“Got through it like a piece of cake.” Alex responded, a heavy weight lifting off his shoulders and chest, “Care for a corndog?” Alex asked in a mocking posh voice, bowing jokingly in front of Sam, surprised he wasn’t feeling nauseous. Sam laughed and flung her arms out in the air like she had absolutely no care for the world, “I’ll care for a corndog, alright. I’ll care for three, even!” “To three corndogs!” “TO THREE CORNDOGS!”  
  
\--  
  
“Well, thanks for driving me home. Again. For the millionth time ever since the first day we met.” Alex chuckled, his hands finding their way in his jean pockets. “Why don’t you ever let me walk you home for once?” Sam tensed up, her eyes looking anywhere but Alex’s. “It’s just uh… my home’s being renovated for the mean time. I can’t have guests over.” Alex nodded slowly, kind of sensing a bit of uneasiness within her tone. “Well, where do you live at least?” he chuckled, “I got to know where my best friend lives. That’s like rule number one in the friendship book.” He joked, trying to ease the tension that came from Sam.  
  
“Just… near. Around a 20 minute drive. It’s a pretty bad neighborhood… like, so bad that no one who lives there dare to speak of its name.” Sam came up with a pretty safe answer, nodding mostly to herself. “You act like it’s Voldemort’s neighborhood.” Alex let out a short laugh, “but I get it. I respect your privacy.” He winked as a sign of a friendly understatement of what she had explained. “Thank you, best friend.” Sam smiled, her heart almost jumping out of appreciation for this boy. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Wrapping her arms around him, Alex felt a sense of comfort coming from Sam that he hasn’t felt in years. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Samantha.”

As he got ready for bed later that night, he wrapped his blanket around him and looked up at his ceiling that had glowing plastic stars that he and Sam put up last week when they had a movie marathon in his room in a tent. Samantha Chamberlain, he almost loses himself in a train of thoughts whenever he thinks about her. She was truly something else. The more he thought of her, the sleepier he got. And in a matter of minutes, Alex Walker falls asleep with a smile on his face and a pulsing beat of an unfamiliar emotion running through his veins for the first time.


	7. STREET FOOD ADVENTURE

**“I** ’M UP EVEN BEFORE YOU COULD WAKE ME!” Alex sprung up from his bed, throwing the blanket off his body and onto his bedroom floor, only to be greeted by Sam holding a bucket of water right above his head ready to aim. “SAMANTHA!” He moved away before she could continue, “Damn it! Why are you suddenly awake on time? After 5 months of constantly waiting for you to finish you five-more-minute whining?” She let out a fake displeased groan as she set the bucket down and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “It was god telling me to wake the fuck up because some loony teenage girl was about to dump a bucket of--” he paused to check the temperature of the water and felt ice cubes floating on top, “--ICE WATER ON ME!”  
  
Sam shrugged, “it seemed like a good prank! Tell god to not be a killjoy next time.” Retorting rather sarcastically, she then clapped her hands once and brightly smiled. “Guess what we’re doing today, boy!” Alex, who was already on his way to the bathroom to shower, responded, “I don’t know. Wake other people up with a bucket of ice cold water?” He sharply glanced at her, silently giving her the daggers through his eyes.  
  
“Good guess, but NOPE!” Sam innocently smiled and plopped down on the couch, “we are going to eat some street food! Dirty ice cream included!” “I’m in, just as long as you’re paying for everything.” Alex peeked his head out from the bathroom, his toothbrush in his mouth. “Paying for everything, my ass. Just get ready before that toothbrush gets stuck inside your throat.”  
  
“You’re mean.”  
“Do I still scare you?”  
“Uh, yeah. Pretty much.”  
“Good.”

 

\--

With the way the two were moaning, you’d think they were doing… some other stuff. But really, they were just gobbling down one of every street food on a stick there was to exist. “Oh my god.” Alex manage to let out with a mouthful of fried quail eggs in his mouth. “Yeees! We should have this for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner!” Sam laughed, dipping her own quail egg in sweet and sour sauce, “If you want to end up having a heart attack, then go for it, Einstein.”

  
“A fantastic goatee you’re growing there, Samantha.” Alex snickered as soon as he looked up and saw a dabble of sauce on Sam’s chin, “What hair growth gel do you use?” Sam groaned and blushed in embarrassment, “You could’ve just said there was sauce on my chin. You could’ve been less of an asshole.” Alex smirked as he swallowed down another piece of his fried quail eggs, “Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?” “Oh, so you know what fun is now?” Sam teased, wiping off the sauce on her chin with a clean tissue. “Mhm, and I realized I usually feel that with you. Fun, happy, and all.” He said, nonchalantly as he focused on eating his food.  
  
“You feel… happy… around me?” Sam asked quietly, her eyes training up to look at his. Silence filled the space in between them, their throats swallowing food and the ruckus of the streets were the only noise you could hear. “I-I don’t know… I haven’t felt happy for a long time. I don’t… I’m not sure what it feels like.” He swallowed down his food with water as he looked up at Sam, “but every day with you is like a huge weight taken off my body. Like, my cheeks hurt from laughing at the end of the day. I go to school looking forward to my classes because I know I’ll be seeing you once dismissal hits, I wake up with light thumps of my heart knowing you’re there, and I…” Alex let out a chuckle, shrugging, “I just feel this tingle whenever you’re near me. It’s a ticklish feeling, really.”  
  
Sam gave him a soft smile, her nose scrunching up at the words he had said. “That tingle is an unknown emotion then, I suppose.” She joked, holding his hand. “I’m glad I make you feel that way. Guess we now both have something in common, Walker.” Standing up, she threw her and Alex’s trash in the bin. “Now, I hope you’re full, because we have a long day in the planetarium.”  
  
“Are you paying for it all?”  
“You can keep dreaming that.”

 


	8. ALEX, SAM, AND THE MOON

**C** oming back from the planetarium, Sam decided to stay for a while. “I know we just got back from the planetarium and saw the moon and all, but I’d like to see it with you once more. Come with me.” He motioned for her to follow him as he tugged on her hand and opened his bedroom window. “If you’re going to push me out of the window, then at least do it in a subtle way.” Sam joked, her melodic laugh coming right after it.  
“Damn. You ruined the whole plan.” Alex groaned, but then laughed along. “No, really, come on.” Being the first one to go out of the rooftop, he held his hand out to help Sam go out of the window safely.  
  
“Oh, wow… the moon looks beautiful from up here.” She softly mumbled, her eyes trained on the glowing globe in front of them. “Yeah, it really does.” Alex responded, not looking at the moon but rather, he was looking at something much better—Sam. Noticing it, she let out a sly chuckle. “You’re a hopeless romantic, Alex Walker.” “Don’t act like you aren’t one as well, Sam Chamberlain.” He laughed, looking up at the moon for a short while before looking back at her. “Thank you… for everything.” His eyes searching for the glimmer in hers, “I mean it. This is the… absolute happiest I’ve ever been. It’s ridiculous.” He chuckled, shaking his head as if he was the most pathetic thing to have ever walked this Earth.  
  
“Guess my time is up then.” Sam joked half-heartedly, a chuckle rumbling through her chest. “I’m glad I make you happy, Alex. You make me happy too. I just wanted you to know that.” She looped her arm with his as she lightly smiled, “You’re the bestest friend I could ever have.”  
  
“Who would’ve thought I’d meet someone as amazing as you, Sam?” He asked, mostly to himself as the moon shone over the right side of his face. “Fate is a funny thing, isn’t it?” Sam replied with a sigh, “Like a comedian on a roll.”  
“I honestly don’t know what I’d be doing right now if I hadn’t met you.” He started to say, “I mean, I’d probably still live like I want to die but you know…” “You glad I snuck in your room then?” Sam let out a laugh, reminiscing the reaction Alex had the first time he saw her laying on his couch early in the morning. “Mhm, but also completely thankful.” With a wink, he teased her, “But I did lose a pair of briefs after we left.” Turning her torso to look at him, “Oh, as if I’d steal something THAT gross!” She slapped his arm as she laughed.  
  
“HEY! I clean my underwear thoroughly, for your information.” He laughed along with her as he nudged her side with his elbow. Sam winked teasingly and nodded as if she was forced to believe him, “Sure you do.” But Alex swept the banter aside for a moment. “No, but really. Thank you. You’ve made me the happiest these past few months—the happiest I’ve ever been in years.” His hand made its way to intertwine with hers, “Thank you.”  
“That’s what I’m here for, Walker.” Sam replied with a soft voice, “You don’t need to thank me.” And with that, she rested her head on his shoulder.

“I’d take you to the moon if I could, just so you’d know how grateful I am.”  
“That’s quite impossible.”  
“So is happiness, but look where I’m at.” Alex replied, a smile etched on his face—a smile only Sam could ever make him do.  
“Happiness isn’t impossible, it’s just hard to grasp in your hands.” Sam quietly said, rubbing her thumb on the back of Alex’s hand.  
“In my dreams, then. I’ll see you there and I’ll take you to the moon.” Alex responded with so much sincerity and longing in his voice.  
“So, you dream about me?” Sam let out a soft laugh.  
“Every single night. You never seem to leave my mind, Chamberlain.” Alex bit his lip as he tried to hide a smile, “You never seem to leave at all.”  
Sam smiles timidly at his words, a specific one hurting her right on the chest. “Take me to the moon when you fall asleep then.”

“It would be my pleasure.”


	9. WHO IS SAM?

**J** ust like the past five months, Alex woke up feeling excited and giddy, expecting to see Sam lounging on his couch like every other morning but met with confusion as he sees no one in the room with him. “Huh?” He looked around his room, trying to find something that might lead to a prank Sam was pulling on him. “Sam?” he called out once more, but still received no response. “C’mon, Chamberlain, this isn’t funny.” He let out a light chuckle, but only to feel like something was weird—something was off. As if Sam didn’t just leave physically, as if there was no trace of her at all.  
  
“Sam?” He tried to call out once more before rushing downstairs, “Mom, did you see Sam leave? Or drop by this morning? Did she say something to you? Maybe she left a note or—“ he didn’t get to finish his sentence and instead got cut off by his mother, “Okay, first of all, shut up. Your voice is as loud as a police car’s siren and it’s only 7 in the morning.” Mrs. Walker groaned, “And second of all, who the hell is Sam?”  
  
Alex looked at her as if she was out of her mind, “Sam, mom. The girl you’ve been letting inside my room every morning and the girl you see me come home with.” He sighed, giving up when he saw how confused his intoxicated mother looked. “The alcohol must be messing with your memory.”  
“If the alcohol did then I wouldn’t remember any of you brats.” She rolled her eyes and took another swig of her beer, “I don’t know a Sam and I’d be a damn fool to let a girl go in your room every morning. Also, you never took a girl home. Honestly, how long did you sleep, Alexander?”  
  
Alex couldn’t say something, in disbelief. He tried to knock some sense into her. “Mom. Sam. You know her! I know you do!” He grew more and more confused and frustrated as he ran his hand through his bed-swept hair, “Stop playing games with me and just answer me normally! I need to know where she is!”

“I told you! I don’t know a Sam!” Mrs. Walker raised her voice, certain of her answer. “Now, shut up and go back to your room! I’ll make my own damn breakfast since your head is wrapped around an imaginary girlfriend since you can’t get a real one for some godforsaken reason.” She mumbled, stumbling her way across the kitchen.

  
“Mom!” Alex called out, but suddenly felt a touch on his shoulder—as if a hand was placed there, a familiar one at that. “Sam?” he whispered softly, suddenly feeling his body go numb when he tried to turn around to look at her. Faintly whispering in his ear, “That’s how it feels like to be happy, Alex Walker. My time is up.” Along with a soft kiss on his cheek, Alex’s body was no longer numb. He spun around quickly to see her, but only to be met by no one. “S-sam?” He looked around hopelessly, tears stinging in his eyes as they welled up. “Sam…”  
  
And with that, Samantha Chamberlain was no more than a figment of his imagination.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	10. A JOURNAL ENTRY BY ALEXANDER WALKER

**I** f you want to be happy, then be. There is no stronger force than the desire for happiness. I, Alex Walker, longed for this moment—I longed for merriment, and it stumbled in my life in the form of Samantha Chamberlain. Happiness. A new beginning—may it hurt, may it not. She was my happiness. She was my new beginning. But she didn’t stay until the end. I was on my own, but boy, was I thankful to have someone as beautiful as her to have been my first taste of happiness—my motivation to  keep that new beginning going until the end.

Sam once told me that I could find freedom in being happy. And just because she left does not mean I am back to wanting to be on my death bed. The sheer memory of Samantha Chamberlain is enough for me to keep seeking what will truly make me happy in this world. So, wherever you may be, Samantha, may you be in my head hiding behind the woods of my regrets—I hope you are aware you are the reason that I still strive for complete happiness.  
  
Poursuite Du Bonheur.  
Pursuit of Happiness.   
I will continue fighting for it.   
  
Love always,  
  
Alexander Stevie H. Walker  


 

 

 

 

 


End file.
